Spring is finally here!

Do you know how I know? The symptoms that you all are coming in with!

Spring is the season associated with the Liver, in Chinese Medicine. The Liver, when it's out of balance, shows particular symptoms. Have you been experiencing any of these?

• Allergies, especially eye symptoms​
• Worsening or flaring of Eczema symptoms
• Irritability/Easily frustrated
• Increased sense of stress or overwhelm
• Worsening of pain symptoms - particularly those with an immune component
• Trouble sleeping, especially if you're waking between 1am-3am
• In folks who menstruate - increased PMS, clotting, cramping, and a general "That was a weird one!" sense of your cycle
• In perimenopausal folks - temporarily worsening of your hotflash/nightsweats situation

The Liver is associated with the element of Wood. Just like the trees budding, bulbs popping up out of the ground, and grass growing crazy fast, our energy is ready to emerge for the season! Winter time is a time to rest and repair and rebuild. Spring is a time to emerge, grow and expand. Many of us are experiencing worsened symptoms because the weather hasn't been cooperating with our energetic and mental desires to start moving, growing and changing!

In order to help ease your Livery symptoms, consider trying some of these tactics!

• MOVE! - Go for a walk or a run, do some yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Just be gentle with your first few outings. It's really easy to injure your tendons and ligaments (also associated with the Liver!) after being more stationary for the season.
• Eat sour things! - The sour flavor is associated with the Liver - citrus of all types, but also many fresh fruits and berries can help move your stuck Qi
• Green things! - Green is the color associated with the Liver - Eat leafy greens of all sorts, wear green, paint your nails green, green green green!
• This one is my personal favorite - Garden - Getting your hands dirty while hanging out in the dirt and plant life and getting a bit of exercise can really break up the stuckness that you might be feeling!
• Of course, acupuncture is a FANTASTIC tool for getting our energy moving as well!
• If your body is being PARTICULARLY stubborn, an appropriate Chinese herbal formula might be needed

As you can see from the photo of the office - my family and I spent some time weeding and mowing this weekend. We still have a TON of work ahead of us, but I look forward to my dirt time medicine for the springtime BLAHS!

Until Next Time! <3 Becca

Ask the biomedical world why we crave the things that we do, and they're not really sure. Could be hormones. Could be some sort of nutrient deficiency. Could be that your mother only showed her love to you through food as a child.

Cravings are kind of a cool subject when looked at through a Chinese Medical perspective. Cravings are brought on by imbalances in our organs and emotions.

Every organ is associated with both an emotional spectrum and a flavor.

• Heart - Sorrow or joy and Bitter
  
• Spleen - Over-thinking/worry or being at peace/centered and Sweet
  
• Lung - Grief/a feeling of alienation or feeling connected with the world and Acrid
  
• Kidney - Fear/apprehension or will-power and Salty
  
• Liver - Anger/frustration or being flexible and Sour

When we experience too much of the emotions on the negative side of the emotional spectrum, this tends to damage the associated organ.

So, for example, if you tend to be a worrier, it can damage your Spleen leading to symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, fatigue and sugar-cravings.

For those who crave salt, they may have a history of being afraid or apprehensive in their lives. They may also experience symptoms such as incontinence, early aging, and low back pain.

If we're talking about pregnancy cravings, this tends to be a little different, since it is a healthy state, not one of imbalance. If a woman craves sour (think pickles or citrus) it is likely because her baby is growing, with Liver being the organ associated with quick growth. Remember my post on Liver being associated with wood? Think of the baby as a little seedling. Seedlings tend to change very quickly in their early stages - this is a quality of Wood energy.

If a pregnant woman craves sweet things, it's possible that her Spleen energy (or energy associated with digesting and processing foods to convert to Qi) is a bit weak due to the new, greater demand on her system. Tonify the Spleen and she should see a decrease in her sweet cravings!

As is the way of life, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. If one over-indulges in their cravings, they can further damage the associated organ. It's all about moderation!